Five Free Music Distributors
Aug 28, 2022
Are you looking to get you music uploaded to Spotify? Maybe Apple Music, TikTok or Instagram? But you'd rather not pay for your release, instead you're looking for a free music distributor.
Then, you've come to the right place!
In this post, I will list out my top five recommended free music distributors. For every free distributor, I'll also outline some of their advantages and disadvantages. After reading, you'll have a much better understanding of what free distributor you should go with to release you music.
Here are the five free music distributors we'll be going over:
Bonus option. I've recently come across another company called Boost Collective. I like them because not only are they completely free but they make a point to help you with your music marketing and promotion.
Can Music Distribution Actually Be Free?
How can it be true that we can release our music and get it uploaded to all the streaming platforms for free! Why the heck is everyone going to DistroKid or Ditto to pay for their music distribution? How do they not know about this huge secret!
Well, small buzz kill, everything comes with some type of cost. Nothing is ever really free.
Yes, even though, these are free music distributors. They will actually release your music for free to all the streaming services. "But wait, you said there's a cost?" Yes, and that cost, most of the time, is in your music royalties. In order for the music distributor to offer you free music distribution they will ask for a percentage of your music royalties in return.
This is the money you make from streams on Spotify, for example. You thought that these companies were just being nice? No, unfortunately not. Everything comes at a cost. You just need to decide what cost you would prefer. You have to ask yourself these two questions;
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Would your rather pay for your music distribution up front? This means you can keep 100% of your music royalties
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Would you like free music distribution? This means you'll have to give up a percentage of your music royalties.
There is no wrong answer. It really will depend on you.
Let's dive into a quick example for an early artist who is ready to release their first single:
We will assume the artist wants free music distribution so they go with a free music distributor like Amuse.
Now, let's assume this artist has built a small fan base but is just beginning. They put a lot into their first release and do some promotion on TikTok and Instagram. On release day they get 10,000 streams. That's awesome!
The artist is blown away and it's so much more than they expected. Over the next 2 years, the artist continue to promote the song. They end up getting on a few playlists, even some Spotify editorial ones. In 2 years, the song has accumulated 100,000 streams.
Now let's do some math. The artist paid $0.00 for music distribution since they went with Amuse. The artist earned about $500.00 from their song. This is taking into account an average stream payout of $0.005.
If the artist released this song with Amuse, then they would have to give Amuse 15% of music royalties. This would equal to $75. Therefore, the artist actually takes home $425.00.
Now, let's say, the artist releases their song with a paid music distributor like DistroKid. Considering the same streams, the artist would keep $500.00 but they would have to pay DistroKid their annual fee of $20.00.
Over 2 years, that's $40.00. Therefore, the artist actually takes home $460.00. This also assume you are on the cheapest DistroKid pricing plan and you have chose not to purchase any add-ons.
In general, you can see there isn't a significant difference when you are getting about 100,000 streams. The big difference comes into play when you are getting millions of streams. In the same example, if the artist got 5,000,000 streams then then would have to pay Amuse $3,750 and the artist would take home $21,250.
The real million dollar question here is:
- How many streams do you think your song will receive?
I wanted to make sure that I let you know the details about free music distribution before I get into all the distributors. Free distribution is not wrong! It's just a matter of choice and you'll need to decide for yourself. If you do want to go with free music distribution then let's get into my top five recommended free music distributors.
TuneCore
TuneCore has recently become a free music distributor with their recent pricing changes. Up to date they've been one of the biggest music distributors against DistroKid. They allow you to release your music for free and keep 100% of your music royalties. Pretty wild, right? But, is there a catch?
Yes, there is. Remember when I said nothing is ever free?
In order to get free music distribution and keep 100% of your music royalties you will have to be okay to only release your music to popular social platforms. These platforms include:
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Facebook
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TikTok
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Instagram
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Youtube
Now, if we're speaking honestly here, technically, you can independently upload your music to all of these social platforms for free. You can't upload your music directly to Apple Music or upload your music directly to Spotify for free, that's why you need a music distributor. However, it's smart of TuneCore to offer this plan since they can catch a new artist at the beginning of their career to hopefully see them blossom into a successful artist.
The big benefit though with the free TuneCore plan is their distribution to TikTok. I think this is very smart if you're a new artist and you don't want to invest much into your distribution yet. However, you're creating lots of music and you want to test the market with your new song ideas. What's a better way than to use TuneCore free music distribution, and if a song blows up, you still keep 100% of your music royalties. Now that sounds like a pretty good deal.
Besides the free plan on TuneCore, if you want to release on major platforms then you'll have to start paying an annual fee. Check out the TuneCore pricing plan for more details.
TuneCore Advantages
It's free, you can't beat free. You also get customer support with a guaranteed response time of 5 days. Finally, TuneCore is a reputable company and has been around for a long time. The kicker is with the free plan you keep 100% of your music royalties.
TuneCore Disadvantages
The biggest disadvantage with the TuneCore free option is you cannot have your music released on Spotify, Apple Music, Youtube Music, Amazon Music, Tidal, Deezer and any other major streaming platform. This a big draw back for the TuneCore free option.
RouteNote
I always get the feeling the RouteNote is a "family run" music distributor. Kind of like when you're driving around on country roads and you come across and old "mom and pop" bakery.
I feel like RouteNote is the "mom and pop" music distributor. Not in a bad way. Their website has that affect when you compare it to all the other music distributors. It doesn't seem as polished or "professional". However, their language is comforting and real.
RouteNote has free music distribution that includes all major streaming services. Pretty great. They also talk a lot of no "hidden fees" which is something you wonder when it comes to music distribution. There are all sorts of fees that can go unnoticed so it's reassuring they advertise no hidden fees.
You'll notice on the RouteNote pricing page that they also have different paid options as well. The paid distribution plans allow you to keep 100% of your music royalties. A very similar approach to TuneCore. They also have a custom plan option which I think it's very valuable to labels or teams of artists.
I haven't seen this type of custom plan on any other music distributor.
RouteNote Advantages
They allow you to distribute your music to all major streaming services for free. However, you must give them 15% of your music royalties in return for this free service. You keep 85%. On top of this you get full access to all their services. However, it's not totally certain about what these services are. Is it analytics? Customer service? Unfortunately, it's not straight forward.
You can have unlimited artists which I think is great because not only do I have my Charles Cleyn project but I have any other side project artists that I release music under as well.
Finally, you have a feeling that the RouteNote team is a small and personable. I can't 100% stick by my word on this one though, I just get the feeling that they are like this when I compare them against all the other free music distributors.
RouteNote Disadvantages
A big disadvantage right up front for the free plan is you have to give 15% of your music royalties. Like I was saying at the beginning, this could be a significant chunk of change but only if you get A LOT of streams. How many streams are you expecting for your release?
Another disadvantage might just be that RouteNote hasn't been around for such a long time. Does that mean they're weak? No, not necessarily but it does mean that they are still figuring out the game a little and their product could be a bit weak. For example, their UX design isn't friendly, this includes the experience on mobile and desktop.
Amuse
You can think of Amuse as the little sister of TuneCore since they offer a very similar pricing plan. However, there is a twist. In general, you can start for free and then upgrade to paid plans as you grow as an artist. Their free music distribution plan comes with limitations, just like on TuneCore. Amuse is quite new to the industry but they already seem super professional. Their product is sleek and modern which is a step ahead above a lot of other products in the industry.
They also advertise their own Amuse Record Label where you can potentially get signed as an artist. You have the opportunity to get financing help, marketing strategy, branding and PR, and other strategic planning. I assume if you release your music with Amuse and you make a big enough splash then I'm sure they'll come calling. It's in their interest and yours!
Amuse Advantages
The advantages to Amuse is definitely the totally free option. You can ride out the free option until you're ready to release your music on more streaming services. The free option allows you to release your music on some of the major streaming platforms. For instance, Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal, Deezer, Amazon Music. This is huge advantage to Amuse.
Besides this, their record label looks like it could push you to the next stage of your artist career to get more exposure.. This assumes your music is already amazing though. By the way, need to learn how to make killer music? You should check out my music production courses.
Their mobile app and UX design is spot on though. It's intuitive and user friendly, I can't say many bad things about their design. Good on them
Amuse Disadvantages
Did you think Amuse was just so amazing? Well, yes, it's pretty good but remember nothing is totally free and there will always be limitations with free plans. The draw backs of Amuse include your release time and access to other essential features. You can think of their free plan as a true beginner plan. Iy's definitely training wheels. If you have any experience as an artist you'll want to skip free and move right to their boost or pro plans.
With their free plan you release your music in 4 weeks. So there is wait time. About 28 days wait time. Need something to get out quicker? Not possible with the free option. In general, you cannot schedule any release date with their free plan. You also can only have up to 12 releases per year. Below is an image comparing all three options on Amuse and you'll start to understand the difference between each.
As you'll noticed from their pricing plan, which can be seen above, you get many more features as you start to pay an annual fee. Are you starting to notice a trend across the music distributors? If you answered yes, then you're right! It is becoming more popular for music distributors to offer free music distribution with added limitations but their end goal is to always have you pay for an annual fee as you become a more mature artist.
United Masters
United Masters, like Amuse, is a fairly new music distributor. They started in the year 2017. They started with an investment made by Google. That's pretty good considering Google is one of the biggest companies in the world. You can definitely see the Google influence in their product and design.
There's no question from looking at their website that United Masters has tailored their product to the beat world. This includes genres like hip hop, rap, and pop. They are introducing more products now that will cover the full lifecycle of an indie rap artist. For example, you can now buy beats on United Masters, add your lyrics, release the beat, and get paid. Easy peazy.
One thing that makes United Masters very different is how they split the Artist and Producer in two different areas. You can sign up as an artist and release your music for free. However, you can also sign up as a Producer and sell your beats to other artists and get paid. Pretty cool as they are pioneers in this space for offering this.
Just like most other free music distributors if you want to release your music for free with United Masters then you'll have to give up 10% of your music streaming royalties. If you want to retain 100% of your music streaming royalties then you'll have to bump up to the select artist plan which is about $59.99 a year.
United Masters Advantages
It's pretty cool that they have been backed by one of the biggest brands in the world which means they have a close ear for strategic advice and more financing. That's an advantage on it's own. Other advantages for United Masters include their beat marketplace where you can buy and sell beats. This is exactly like beat starts but instead you can release your beat right with United Masters.
United Masters also pushes a lot of brand partnerships which is good for their artists because it can give them potential opportunities to have their music in sync. On the other hand, exclusive brands can have access to all the and coolest music released on United Masters. Here's some example brands working with United Masters
United Masters Disadvantages
One disadvantage is their free package. It's quite limited but then again, it's free, so you can't complain much. It's noticeable from their marketing, that they're more interested in having you as a full-time artist given their entire lifecycle product suite of buying beats, releasing music, and then helping you get brand deals.
Another disadvantage for United Masters is their tailored audience. This is something that I'm confused why they would do at a strategic level. It's obvious that their market is in rap and hip hop. That's totally fine and dandy. However, if you don't create rap or hip hop then you don't really feel welcome at United Masters.
For example, I produce indie pop music and I wouldn't release my music with United Masters because it's obvious from their marketing, brand deals, and messaging that they don't have a focus in the indie pop world. It's funny to me how you would exclude so many genres from your product but maybe we'll see a change in the future.
Indiefy
Indiefy is also considerably a new music distributor in the space, founded in 2016, in Mexico. They are the most slim down free music distributor in the space and they kind of remind me a little bit of DistroKid. When I say "slim down", what I mean is they are simple. There's hardly anything to get confused about. Just check out their website and you'll see what I mean. Look at their messaging:
They don't have a record label, they don't fuss about brand deals, marketing or all these little extra things that can sometimes just be overwhelming as a new artist. It's simple.
They will get your music on the major streaming services and in return they'll pay you your music royalties. When it comes to free music distribution with Indiefy, it's one of most preferred because you can schedule your own release date. This is something you can't do with any other free music distributor.
Not only this, but you can also get your music released to most major streaming services. However, with the free plan, they do cap it at 11 stores. You're also limited with customer support which is a big one for me because as a new artist, I had many questions come up as I was preparing for new releases.
Another thing to note about Indiefy is they will not give you 100% of your music royalties. You'll have to be okay with given up 15%, you keep 85%. This includes their Indiefy Pro plan as well. That's something definitely you'll need to consider.
Indiefy Advantages
Indiefy is simple, transparent, and straightforward. That's their biggest advantage to me. If you're a new artist, there's not much to get confused or concerned about. They keep it simple.
The ability to released your music for free to the major streaming services and customize your release is also huge! Something no other distributor has. On top of that, they do offer Indiefy Pro which is their paid option and includes more interesting features like a personal webpage that can include your music and artist details. Here's an example of what a page looks like:
Indiefy Disadvantages
The biggest drawback to Indiefy is their long term runway for artists. What happens when you need more features and products? For example, features like admin publishing on TuneCore, brand deals on United Masters, or record label support with Amuse. I think Indiefy is great for new artists but not necessarily more experienced and mature artists.
Another disadvantage could be their 15% cut on music royalties even on their paid plan. That's quite wild considering you're paying for the release at this point. It's a bold move in the space considering no one else does this.
Final Thoughts On Free Music Distribution
It's amazing that there is an option to release your music for free to some of the major streaming services and still retain 100% of your music royalties. If we compare this to just 2 decades ago, when you had to get a record deal, spent thousands of dollars, print CDs, and get them into brick and mortar stores. Now you can do this all for free! It's super cool.
Just remember what I said at the beginning, nothing is really "free". There will always be an angle that the music distributor is trying to get from you. They want to capture you as an artist and see you grow on their platform. Look out for their limitations on the free plans. If you don't mind those limitations then go for it! More importantly, think of your long term career as an artist. Where do you want to go? Do you want to be famous? Tour the world? Be a social influencer? Whatever it is, it should have an impact on music distribution decision.
Even though free might sound good for the short term, you also need to consider the long term. The best thing though is, if you do make a mistake and you need to switch music distributors, you can. And most of the time there won't be any contracts to void or costs. The only cost to switching music distributors would be your time. Here's a tutorial video on how to switch music distributors.
Let me know if you have any questions or comments on my youtube channel and consider subscribing because I've been through all the questions you have in your head as you navigate the unknown world about bring an indie musician in the 21st century.
